Enhanced Capacity Assistance is designed to provide flexible, responsive, general funding to assist organizations supported through the BC Arts Council’s Operating Assistance program. This funding assists organizations to undertake significant strategic activity to address artistic and organizational challenges and opportunities, manage transition, support risk, introduce change and innovation, and/or enhance aspects of organizational capacity.
The program offers annual grants in set amounts of either $15,000 or $30,000 in each year of the Extended Funding Cycle within the BC Arts Council’s Operating Assistance program. The Enhanced Capacity Program supports organizations to implement organizational change and embed strategic activities within operations without affecting base operating grant levels.Funding is available to support strategic and innovative initiatives that fall within one or more of the following broad categories supporting organizational capacity and impact. Funding is intended to allow for a flexible, comprehensive and complementary approach that includes a range of activities that may include any or all of these categories:

Artistic Programs and Practice

Community Engagement

Succession and Human Resource Transition

Any of the above categories may include facilities and/or capital improvements.

Successful applications to this program must demonstrate the impact of the funding on the organization’s ability to achieve or deliver its mission and mandate and the corresponding impact on, and relevance of the initiative to, the artistic practice and community served. Submissions to this program must be based on existing strategic or other planning activities already undertaken and must clearly address the identified priorities and needs of the organization, including the risks, challenges and opportunities being addressed.